Day 1: For Youth, Led by Youth Knowledge, Empowerment, Understanding - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Day 1: For Youth, Led by Youth “ Knowledge, Empowerment, Understanding” 350 Students from 65 School Districts • Morning: 9 topical discussions • Each student attended 3 discussion groups • Approximately 120 in each group, divided into sub-groups of 40 • Each group had 3 student facilitators, 3 content experts (educator, psychology, health care), and 6 scribes per group • Lunch: report outs and discussion • Afternoon: • Life Balance Challenges: Hannah Kearney, Olympic Gold skier from the Upper Valley • Social Media for Good: Seattle Mama Doc, Wendy Sue Swanson, Pediatrician • Film & Writing Festival: 50 submissions: 5 top videos, 4 top stories highlighted • Will be posted on NH Children’s Behavioral Health Collaborative: http://www.nh4youth.org/

Day 2: For Educators, Parents, Community “ They’re Talking. Are We Listening?” • Approximately 150 attendees • Report-out and discussion panels (students, content experts, audience) • Mental Health • Diversity • Timely Topics • Social Media • Community engagement • Researcher-Community Collaboration: Teen Speak Out • Public Health Networks as rich resources • Health care community collaborations

What We Heard: Experiences & Opportunities “Anyone who harbors doubts about the younger generation— or the future of civil discourse, for that matter—should have gone to the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Youth Summit last Friday.” Shawne Wickham Manchester Union Leader , April 8, 2019 At right: Quincy Roy from Manchester Memorial High School leads a discussion at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Youth Summit.

Substance Use • Experience • Wide spread use: cope and escape, peer pressure, parental use • Vaping use huge, also use of marijuana, pills, alcohol • Kids are using at school without detection • Sense that there is an emphasis on punishment rather than providing help • Hopes • Need education on the science of substances and health • Treat like a health issue so kids can come forward • Peer educators and support balanced with expert information • Concern with out of school suspension for kids who need help • More access to counseling to get at the root of the problem

Suicide, Self Harm & Depression • Experience • Many people hurting Fact: 9 out of 10 • Mental health stigma keeps people from speaking up people who • Many feel abnormal coping with the range of human feelings survive a suicide attempt are glad • Social media can isolate and distort perceptions of others they survived. 9 out of 10 people • Feel school counselors not available, too busy, need to schedule who attempt • Hopes suicide with a gun die. Remove from • Opportunities to discuss feelings homes when • Education on mental health issues and signs of suicide risk depression or instability present. • Trained peer counselors (e.g. NAMI program) • Access to counseling in school on an as needed basis

Eating Disorders • Experience • Pressure to look a certain way: bulk up or slim down for certain sports, be curvier or skinnier, taller or smaller, etc. all amplified by media • Body image distortions are common • Affects males as well as females • Focus on spectrum of eating beliefs, dieting, and challenges not just specific eating disorders; there is a need for information • Little understanding, hard to recognize in friends and respond • Hopes • Celebration of different body types; healthy comes in different shapes • More education on healthy eating, on signs of a problem, intervention • Self acceptance

Race & Ethnicity • Experience • Limited diversity in NH, few teachers of color or diverse ethnicity • Awkward to discuss, want to better understand the issues • Racism and racist remarks prevalent, even among well-meaning • Hear “Micro-aggressions” several times a day followed by, “It’s just a joke…” • Hear N word daily • History taught as white person’s history • People feel at risk if they question teachers attitudes • Hopes • Greater respect, understanding that language can hurt • Readings by diverse authors, more balanced history, more diverse role models in schools • Celebrations of diverse cultures: such as food, cultural days

Gender & Sexuality • Experience • LGBTQIA students still experience stigma and discrimination • Language and jokes reflect homophobia and transgender fears • Increasingly understand gender and sexuality as a continuum • Harassment and assumptions are common • Hopes • Need education at younger ages, supports for experience • Peer support: GSA, DSA, Prom Out • Safe spaces and people, • E.g. wristbands as sign of safety • Gender neutral bathrooms

Bullying • Experience • Bullies as traumatized individuals in need of help • Target marginalized people: race, gender, ethnicity, disabled, etc. • Social media has extended reach, home no longer is a haven • Noted that schools with better support resources have less bullying • Hopes • Nee for upstanders not bystanders • Need for respect and recognize common humanity • Need for better psychosocial support services

Pressure for Success • Experience • Definition of success differs for everyone: money, career, healthy life, relationships; accepting others values and different goals reduces judgment • Stress sources differ: siblings, friends, school expectations, parents, self • Learn in different ways: hands on, lectures, interactive • Can’t do everything well • Hopes • Diverse learning options, schedules, methods • Mental health services • Learn coping skills • Self acceptance

School Violence • Experience • Many feel unsafe in school, impairs attention, heightens anxiety • Diverse types of violence: bullying, fights, gangs, threat of gun violence • People who are bullied end up threatening others • Mixed impact of social media: document violence, but may encourage • Hopes • Realistic drills and training for crises • Treatment for people with anger, aggression, other mental health issues • More connections and respect for all students, buddy system • Greater responsibility to report concerns

Road Trip: Distracted Driving • Experience • Diverse distractions: passengers, texting, calls, substance use • Parents not always best roles models • Kids think things won’t happen to them, feel invulnerable • Hopes • Emphasize responsibility and consequences of actions for others • Reduce social stigma of objecting to risky behavior • Speak up, exit car • Find new friends if they don’t change their behaviors • Strategies for help • Text code a word to get away from a situation

Consistent Themes Heard Throughout • Health education on diverse topics. Realistic, non-directive • Mental health, gender and sexuality, substances, interactions/bullying, nutrition, other • Access to health information, assessment of care at school as needed: physical, mental, social • SAPs, co-located health clinics, other • Opportunities for meaningful, authentic discussions with others • Trained peer supports